Is The New IRS Tax App A Security And Privacy Risk?

A former IRS attorney is warning that a new tax app released by the IRS may pose security and privacy risks for users.

The Get Transcript app helps you get copies of your past tax returns, which the IRS calls “Transcripts”.

As posted on the IRS website, “IRS transcripts are often used to validate income and tax filing status for mortgage applications, student and small business loan applications, and during tax preparation.”

Kenneth Ryesky, a former IRS attorney who teaches business law and taxation at Queens College, said “Thieves would need little more than a person’s Social Security number, which the IRS requires online users to provide. “The IRS has long directed itself to data security practices.” However, “it has done an abysmal job of data stewardship — that is, how it processes, handles, verifies, and utilizes the data it strives to keep secure,” Ryesky said. “Look at the recent indictments and convictions, and you will find that more than a few identity thieves are tax return preparers who are victimizing their own clients.”